1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a cleaning device for use in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, particularly a cleaning device that cleans a surface of an image carrier by contacting its cleaning blade to the surface of the image carrier.
2. Related Art
An electrophotographic image forming apparatus transfers toner, which is supplied to a photosensitive drum to develop an electrostatic latent image formed thereon, onto a recording medium such as a sheet of paper, or a transfer object such as an intermediate transfer body in the transfer process. However, some of toner remains on the photosensitive drum even after the transfer. When the residual toner remains until a next transfer process, the residual toner blocks optical discharge for the photosensitive drum in the process of exposing the photosensitive drum and causes an image defect. Therefore, a cleaning device is used to remove the residual toner on the photosensitive drum.
As a cleaning device, magnetic brush cleaners that use electrostatic energy, electrostatic brush cleaners, and magnetic roller cleaners that use magnetic energy have been in use in recent years. Further, other than the above cleaners, blade cleaners that use mechanical energy, brush cleaners, and web cleaners have also been on the market.